The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
Weeds can compete with productive crops and so weed control is an important aspect of crop farming. In crop farming, there have been various ways in which weed control can be achieved, including ploughing and use of herbicides. Ploughing can damage fragile soil and so in more recent times there has been a trend towards use of herbicides. There is now, however, an increasing concern about the use of herbicides and the potential for weed resistance to them.
Genetically modified crops containing herbicide resistance also offer increased risk to the farming system by reducing the ability to control subsequent volunteer populations in the absence complete destruction of crop residue grain contained within harvest waste streams.
There is a need for an effective, efficient, harvester mounted, non-chemical, mechanical method for weed and volunteer grain seed control which does not involve the use of herbicides, or at least reduces the extent of use of herbicides.